And in the Late, Late, Late, LATE News…

You might’ve noticed I haven’t been around much for the past two months or so. Although I did drag myself out of exile to do a post for Mosey’s birthday. I had to; she’s my sister! I couldn’t miss her birthday. …She knows where I live.

It’s not that I haven’t had anything to say – there was too much, if anything. But I just couldn’t bring myself to write my silly blog when it seemed like the whole world was turning to shit, you know? Where every time I turned on the news we’d lost another cultural icon, or there’d been another horrific mass shooting or terrorist attack, or that ludicrous tangerine ball bag and his goose-stepping moron followers had once again lowered the bar for sub-humanity. I really appreciated being able to read other people’s condemnations of such shitty behaviour and be reassured there were still rational, good, tolerant people out there but didn’t feel up to the task of writing about it myself; it would’ve been one long rant of THIS IS SUCH BULLSHIT WHY ARE PEOPLE DOING THIS TO EACH OTHER WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD instead of anything eloquent and helpful.

And now that I feel like writing again there are way too many things I want to write about and my brain is all wadded up and I don’t know where to start. So, like the last time I was blogstipated (I invented that word yesterday and someone liked it so I’m running with it) I am going to attempt to dislodge some ideas with pictures. As well as some GOOD news, because there has actually been plenty to celebrate!

Five-and-a-half Year Old Loses First Tooth: Mum Conflicted

After brushing his teeth one morning Rory walked over to me wobbling it and suddenly there it was in his hand. He was very surprised and chuffed. Mum! It fell out! AND the Tooth Fairy actually remembered to put some loot in the cup before she went to bed too, so there were winners all round.

Mr. F. O’Meara (no relation to soon-to-be-former Suns player Jaeger O’Meara) proudly displays medal won at the Super 8’s AFL Carnival. His team mates agree he is totally the best kicker on the team, and he’s a pretty tidy little mark taker too.Up there, Cazaly! A brilliant mark from the promising young player.

Finn has really enjoyed it and wants to play again next year. We’ve enjoyed it too! It’s only the second year of our club’s existence and we don’t have an official home ground or clubhouse or anything yet, but we do have a kickarse trailer with logos on it, flip-up sides, barbecue plate, sound system, TV, lights and gear storage. It rocks!

O’Meara chasing down the ball before it can hit the sausages on the BBQ.

I love the culture of Aussie Rules; girls as well as boys are encouraged to play, sportsmanlike behaviour is actively encouraged from junior levels onward, and hooliganism is not tolerated. At the professional level there are still instances of racist abuse and spectators being complete dropkicks but the League is making a concerted effort to stamp it out. Seeing the opposing team’s supporters in the train on the way to a game is not cause for a punch up; rather a chat with a fair bit of good-natured piss-taking. Seeing the kids and parents getting out there, having a laugh and just enjoying their sport gives me hope.

The traditional post-game handshakes and cheers for the opposing team. Hiphip HOORAY!

We finally found Rory an after school activity he enjoys! He’s not that into footy so Auskick wasn’t a huge success, he loves cricket but In2Cricket isn’t until fourth term this year, and we were crushed to discover the art classes at school weren’t open to his age group.

Another masterpiece for the kitchen wall; I used his name as the basis for the scribble, and he coloured it in as he saw fit. I’m seeing a distinct Picasso influence there…

Happily, a friend told us about the fantastic Artable studio in Robina which has classes for all ages! Adults too. Everyone brings their own supplies and is taught about different media and techniques, and shown step-by-step how to create their weekly artworks. Rory absolutely loves it.

Work tentatively titled Giraffe and Flower with Sun. Ink and watercolour. Clear favourite so far.

He troops excitedly off to class every Monday afternoon, trailing his mini Elmo suitcase behind him. All I had to buy was an A3 art pad as I had most of my teenage-years art supplies still squirrelled away in the cupboard. Pastels, fancy pencils, watercolour pencils, 2B lead pencil, rubber, watercolour set, textas, crayons and felt tip pen – they use it all! When I gave it to him he tunnelled through it with the level of excitement usually only seen on Christmas morning.

Spring Comes Early to South-East Queensland

Neighbour’s Knee Predicted Long, Cold Winter: NUP.

Spring has arrived! I saw the first batch of Aussie Wood Ducklings the other day and today J was attacked by Masked Lapwings on his run. (Despite the name, they are a native bird, not an outlaw gang. Although they do have sharp spurs on their feet that they try to shank you with as they fly, shrieking, past you… the Hell’s Angels of the bird world.)

You could argue winter never fully arrived; we had our first heat wave in July – JULY – and our mulberry tree has been sprouting for over a month already. Still, for Queensland it’s been wintry; we’ve had the fire going most nights, and it rained all day last Saturday. It’s been hell.

I’m not generally a fan of winter unless there’s snowsports involved (we’re off to New Zealand next month! 😀 :D) but there are some good points I’ll miss…

NEWSFLASH: *drool*

I have a thing; I only have hot drinks when the weather’s cold. And the best way to have a hot drink is by sucking it through a Tim Tam. For those of you not in Straya, this traditional Aussie method is known as the ‘Tim Tam Slam’, the ‘Tim Tam Bomb‘, or, when I (as usual) misheard it one time, the ‘Tim Tam Bong.‘ (Well, there is sucking involved!) Nibble off two opposing corners and suck your drink through it like a straw, then eat it enjoying the melty gooeyness but before the biscuit disintegrates and splashes into your drink… it’s a skill. Requiring a lot of practise. As much as possible, in fact.

NEWSFLASH: Burning stuff is fun.

Our awesome Queenslander has unheated, uninsulated wooden floors and no central heating so our fire stops my socked feet from turning into lumps of ice for the 1.5 months of the year that the temperature dips below 10C. We don’t really need it, but it’s nice and cosy. We also like to light fires in our garden. In our fire pit. But soon there’ll be heatwaves and total fire bans and caveman TV will go off the air.

And I’ll miss cuddling the boys in their fuzzy winter pjs. And how they wrap themselves in their fleecy blankets and bolt to the couch by the fire on chilly mornings. And how Rory jams his cold feet into my thighs to warm them up… actually I won’t miss that. Same as J won’t miss me putting my icy feet so close to his toasty ones that he can ‘feel their aura’.

They wrapped scenes in Brisbane a few days ago but they’re based at Village Roadshow Studios, just 20 minutes down the road, until November. Which means Thor, Loki, Odin, Hulk and Taika Waititi are here, IN MY CITY. I could even conceivably run into them down at the shops! Though… hopefully not in the carpark. Like, with my car.

Chris and Tom have been really awesome on location, graciously taking selfies with hundreds of people and just generally being charming and lovely Aussie boys. Oh yeah we’ve totally adopted Tom.

If you were wondering what happened to Jarryd Hayne after he left the San Francisco 49ers (American NFL) then tried unsuccessfully to join the Fijian Rugby 7s Olympic team to Rio (a variant of Rugby Union), well, we’ve got him! He signed with the Gold Coast Titans (Rugby League) and is back to playing the code of footy he first went pro in. I like rugby – I’m married to a New Zealander and live in Queensland and seem to have learned a fair bit via osmosis – but it’s not solely as a rugby player that I admire him. He went after his dream, did his best, failed, tried again, failed again. Got back up again. He just goes after what he wants, works really hard, has a crack, and through everything has kept the most amazing positive mindset unlimited by fear of failure. I want to be more like that. He’s copped a fair bit of shit for what some people consider disloyalty for not re-signing with the Parramatta Eels, but the Titans were the team who offered him a contract so those sooky babies can just shut the hell up. Carn the Titans!

Right Hook – Legends at the ANZAC Institute in Sydney have developed a vaccine that totally murders prostate cancer cells in test tubes. Using a patient’s own blood, they isolate the dendritic cells (part of immune system), reprogram them with genetic material from the tumour, then return it to the patient. It’s like firing a targeted torpedo at the bastard. And the vaccine prevents relapse! It’s hoped human trials will happen within two years, and that the technology can also be applied to other cancers such as leukaemia and brain cancer. Ye-hah!

…Inject chemical compound nitrobenzaldehyde into a tumour, let it soak in for a bit, then shine a beam of UV light at the mofo and watch it turn acidic and DIE. (*DIE MUTHAF*CKA DIE!!*) About 95% of targeted cancer cells are dead within two hours. And this method works on all different types of cancers, and would be particularly helpful to people with inoperable or hard-to-reach tumours, like Dad, with none of the side-effects of chemotherapy because it targets the cancer cells only.

Holy shit, that is unbelievably awesome! All of these champions are going straight on my Christmas card list.

And they’ve all been plugging away, quietly making the world a better place even as madmen try to tear it down. That’s something that will probably never end, but I’ll try to remember; focus on the good in people, and the world becomes a wonderful place again.

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It is so great to see you back and writing! LOVE Rory’s paintings – I hope you’re framing some of them; they get tatty on the fridge and that giraffe is too good to lose – just look at the sun! Really, really good! I agree with Mister Rogers’ mother … Some people can go out and make a whole lot of noise, for good or evil, but the true and lasting way to change the world is one small act of kindness at a time.

Thanks Belladonna, good to BE back. (Or should I call you Tookie, or Bellie? 😜) That’s so true about small kindnesses being the way to positive change and I love that idea even if it all seems impossible some days. I’ve always made copies of the boys’ best work and my Mum and sister both want prints of the giraffe – we could go into business! 😊

Not Bellie please. I am trying to lose the large one I have, and naming it will not be helpful… *grin*

You might do worse. Maybe there’s a good cause he’d like to support? When I was running a dog rescue, one of our young adopters made a collection of really beautiful notecards – her own artwork, printed at a local print shop. She sold them for $5 a set, including envelopes, and we got I think $4.50. (She kept back enough to cover her costs.)

How about Tummie? lol just kidding.
Aw cards for a cause is a beautiful idea! I’d make our Xmas cards out of them except I still have several dozen in the drawer since I did NONE last year. Well except for immediate family. For the first time in about 15 years. It felt weird, kind of wrong, but extremely freeing. I should probably start on this year’s mail out already!
And I don’t have any room on the fridge, it’s already chockers as I am obsessed with collecting magnets plus kid’s party invitations and so on. I have a big old picture frame that I found in a thrift shop, knocked out the glass and nailed some twine across it so I can peg up the boys’ creations. So technically they’re framed… 🙂

Can you even get Tim Tams where you are? They are everywhere here and it seems like the fuckers are always on special! You know that junk food aisle meme in my crossfit post? That’s me EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Oh yes, they are plentiful in the stores of Vancouver, and more’s the pity; ever since a friend introduced me to the Tim Tam Slam a few years back I’ve had to do my darndest to ignore them whenever I’m at the grocery store lest I gain my own weight over again in chocolate.

Huh what the? I just found this comment in my spam queue! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU AKISMET! Very sorry about that Nutty, I swear I wasn’t like totally dissing you. Especially since I completely agree. Though I wonder if they taste the same over there? I know Cadbury’s choccie tastes different in the UK to how it tastes here because a friend gave me some one time. It tasted… not bad, but not the same.

There’s so much great news here–among other things I’m slightly envious that you’re going into summer while we in the northern hemisphere are slowly moving toward winter (very slowly–it’s still getting above 35C here on a regular basis).
I may have to see if I can find the components for Tim Tam Slams here. That’s a funny thing: as the world has become more interconnected it can be easy to be overwhelmed by bad news but also easy to find good news and good things from other places. Our markets have large international sections now–and we even have some markets that are solely international items.
And as a former art history student and amateur critic I am astounded by Rory’s works. Had I not known I might have mistaken them for works by Miro or Kandinsky, and I hope he never loses that spirit of experimentation.

As well as framing Rory’s paintings I think I might just have to frame your comments about Rory’s works as well! 🙂 And I’ll have to remember those names so I can wedge them into casual conversations about the artist in the family. On Monday they used oil pastels to make scratch paintings and his peacock was amazing. Like, I checked with the teacher to make sure it was really his!
Over 35C in summer in Nashville – how cold does it get in winter? *googles* You’re in the south but I see you get snow there. That’s a helluva temperature variation. Sounds a bit like Ballarat where my Mum lives in Victoria’s highlands- over 40C and dry as an oven in summer, icy winds, hail, rain and an occasional bit of snow in winter. Wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for that WIND! I spent 1.5 winters there then bolted up to Queensland.